Bombay Bicycle Club, "So long, see you tomorrow" (Album)

North London four piece Bombay Bicycle Club release their fourth album "So long, see you tomorrow" on Monday 3rd February. But is it any bloody good? Well...

YES!

Produced by front man Jack Steadman in their own studio, this record is billed as their most personal to date and it definitely feels like a cohesive body of work. Usually that means something like "yeah that one song was sick so they made 12 versions of it and boom, album", not so with these cats. BBC have always stood out from their white kid guitar band contemporaries by being disgustingly creative and unpredictable whilst still finding the magic spot where songwriting craft and melody manage to stave off the attempts of arse slapping muso self indulgence.

Lazily in/out of time bleeps, looped strings, sampled brass, rich keys, chorus "ooooooooohhhh"'s, hell, even Bollywood samples make an entrance. It's safe to say the spectrum of shades on this record are diverse and in keeping with the bands refusal to fall into the dark art of boring repetition which has encapsulated so many of their peers, well before album number four no less.

This is a lot of words for me (and someone's just farted on this train so I need to move carriages) so I'll wrap this up. Opener "Overdone" is a barn storming opening statement of almost Sgt Pepper proportions of audacity in the psych-indie Ferris wheel stakes, standout singles "Carry Me" and "Luna" are two of the best tracks Radio 1 will playlist all year whilst "It's alright now" hints at a Doves-like maturity. "Home by now" will confuse the shit out of you with its R&B influences/Alicia Keys like piano chops breaking into a majestic, expansive soundscape. "Whenever, Wherever" is sadly not a Shakira cover but it will soundtrack your triumphant morning march to the office (pound those streets, reach for that coffee) while the sweetly plinky plonky title track brings the curtains down on the show with the understated, modest confidence and infectious invention that makes this band so damn consistent and relevant."So long, see you tomorrow" is out on Monday 3rd February through Island Records.